Grahamstown’s National Arts Festival is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most widely anticipated annual events, as it showcases consistently awe-inspiring snippets of art, theatre and overall creative innovation. The recent addition of Creativate Digital Arts Festival to the programme means a new space “where technology and arts converge”, and ultimately complement each other.

Tony Lankester, CEO of the National Arts Festival and co-curator of Creativate, describes the event as, “a playground for artists and audiences interested in how the digital age is helping to bring our imaginations to life, and who want to experience the creative tools of the future.” Separating digital and art simply doesn’t make sense in a world where their convergence is so mutually beneficial, and that is exactly why we need festivals like Creativate.

One of our very own Treeshakers, co-founder Max Kaizen, is on the Creativate program and describes the event as being “at the bright pioneering tip of art and tech festivals starting to sparkle into being around the world.” Max’s session takes place on Saturday, 30 June and will be both participative and practical, focusing on building a devoted fan-base to power creative business. One of the most long-standing trials of the artist is how to build a career out of one’s art that is creatively fulfilling and financially viable - all without becoming the dreaded sellout - and Max definitely has some interesting ideas on this one.

In addition to workshop sessions like Max’s Fan Powered Financial Independence for Creative Sustainability, Creativate will host a variety of installations, workshops, performances and lectures, all of which centre on the intersection of artistic and digital worlds. If you happen to be in Grahamstown for the National Arts Festival, definitely head over to the Creativate Digital Arts Festival.

Check out the Creativate programme here and the hour-by-hour schedule here